USA

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. government will lead an ambitious effort to develop technologies to recycle lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, cellphones and other sources to ensure a reliable and affordable supply of metals crucial to battery production in anticipation of soaring global demand and potential shortages, Department of Energy officials said Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will nominate a former Alabama official to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Jeffrey Byard held several positions with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency before he joined FEMA in 2017 during the agency’s response to Hurricanes Harvey in Texas and Irma in Florida. Byard is currently the associate administrator for the Office of Response and Recovery.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The U.S. government has suddenly stopped force-feeding a group of men on a hunger strike inside an El Paso immigration detention center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

The dramatic reversal came Thursday as public pressure was mounting on ICE to halt the practice, which involves feeding detainees through nasal tubes against their will. Last week, the United Nations human rights office said the force-feeding of Indian hunger strikers at the facility could violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump claimed Friday that Japan’s prime minister had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize for opening a dialogue with North Korea.

Trump also complained about President Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize and doubted he would be similarly honored.

AURORA, Ill. (AP) — A 15-year employee being fired from a suburban Chicago manufacturing company started shooting Friday, killing five co-workers and wounding five police officers before he was killed by police, authorities said.

Aurora, Illinois, Police Chief Kristen Ziman said 45-year-old Gary Martin “was being terminated” before he started shooting at the Henry Pratt Co. — which makes valves for industrial purposes — in the city about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Chicago.

WASHINGTON, February 15. /TASS/. A legislation dubbed the INF Treaty Compliance Act that would prevent Washington from spending taxpayer money on weapons that violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has been introduced to the US Congress. The legislation was developed by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/ At least five people were killed in a shooting in Aurora, Illinois, NBC reported on Friday.

Earlier reports said one person was killed and four policemen were injured in the shooting.

A gunman opened fire at the Henry Pratt Company just before 1:30pm local time. The gunman was engaged in gunfire with the police and killed.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday deplored the humanitarian situation in Gaza and praised the UN agency for Palestinian refugees "critical work" last year.

In his remarks to a meeting on the rights of the Palestinian people, Guterres said that approximately two million Palestinians remain mired in increasing poverty and unemployment, with limited access to adequate health, education, water and electricity.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Friday a national emergency to expand the U.S.-Mexico border wall and push for his signature campaign promise.

The move gave the president power to bypass Congress to get access to money, but it sparked a new round of legal and partisan battles almost immediately.

"I'm going to be signing a national emergency," Trump said at the Rose Garden in White House on Friday morning. "It's a great thing to do because we have an invasion of drugs, invasion of gangs, invasion of people."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The attorney for a white police officer charged with fatally shooting an armed black man in Tennessee is calling for legal discovery documents to be sealed from members of the public.

Meanwhile, a police union has launched a digital ad campaign seeking to defend the Nashville officer, Andrew Delke, and bolster his image in public. The officer shot 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick from behind during a foot chase last July and is charged with first-degree murder.